SAT participation down

Thursday

Sep 26, 2013 at 5:33 AMSep 26, 2013 at 5:36 AM

ASHEBORO — Fewer members of the Class of 2013 at local high schools took the SAT than previous seniors, indicating a possible shift by students to use results of the other college admissions test, the ACT, which they were all required to take as juniors.

ASHEBORO — Fewer members of the Class of 2013 at local high schools took the SAT than previous seniors, indicating a possible shift by students to use results of the other college admissions test, the ACT, which they were all required to take as juniors.

The SAT has been the preferred admissions test in North Carolina for college-bound students. In March 2012, Class of 2013 members were, as juniors, the first required to take the ACT as part of the state’s new accountability model.

Students can use their ACT results for college admission and not have to pay to take any college entrance exams. ACT scores for the Class of 2013 at individual schools have not been released.

Participation rates are part of the annual SAT report released Thursday by The College Board. SAT results for all 115 school districts, individual public and charter schools and the N.C. School of the Arts and School of Science and Mathematics were provided by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

The report showed that Randolph Early College High School continued to excel; its average score exceeded both the state and national averages. No other local high school exceeded the state and national averages; many showed lower average scores than previous classes.

The RECHS Class of 2013 had an average combined SAT score of 1503, compared to the state average of 1479 and national average of 1498.

Participation at RECHS increased by one student for 70.8 percent, compared to 68.5 percent for its Class of 2012. The number of North Carolina seniors taking the SAT dropped from 68 percent to 62 percent.

Randolph County Schools’ Class of 2013 had 43.9 percent participation, compared to 52.6 percent for the Class of 2012 and 49.9 percent the previous year. RECHS had the highest participation rate in the school district; others ranged from 31.7 percent at Southwestern Randolph to 58.1 percent at Wheatmore.

At Asheboro City Schools’ Asheboro High School, the participation rate was 59.9 percent compared to 67.5 percent for the previous class and 78.8 percent for the Class of 2011.

More students at AHS, 157, took the test than at any other local high school. Individual county school numbers ranged from 51 at RECHS to 81 at PGHS.

Montgomery County Schools’ participation rate was 45.6 percent, down from the previous class rate of 47.4 percent and an increase in the 43.3 percent for the Class of 2011.

The SAT includes the traditional math and critical reading (formerly verbal) scores as well as a writing score. There’s a maximum of 800 points for each section with a total perfect score being 2400.

State average for the two traditional SAT math and critical reading sections combined increased from 997 to 1001 and, with the inclusion of writing, 1479; the national average remained unchanged at 1010 and 1498, respectively.

Randolph Early College’s Class of 2013 had a score of 1017 for the two traditional SAT math and critical reading sections and 1503 for the inclusion of writing.

Asheboro provided a release Thursday about its results plus a three-page report which included a list of the post-secondary institutions where AHS students requested their score reports be sent. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro had 36.7 percent of score senders, followed by East Carolina University, 34.5 percent; University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 33.8 percent; and N.C. State University, 33.1 percent.

“While we’re not pleased with the slight drop in composite score from 973 in 2012 to 943 in 2013, we can use the 2013 numbers to give us a good sense of where we need to focus our energy in getting high school students better prepared for college coursework,” Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost said.

“There are still performance gaps in the subgroup scores that are being addressed in strategic goals for the 2013-2014 school year. We know that in order to improve our scores and ultimately prepare students for success in college, we’ve got to encourage students to challenge themselves academically by making rigorous course selections,” she said.

The state’s 2013 SAT Report shows performance for the last three classes. The scores reported are based on individual students’ results the last time they took the SAT, not necessarily their highest score, through June this year.

The average math and critical reading total scores, average grand total scores including writing and participation rates for the three local school districts and area high schools for the Classes of 2013, 2012 and 2011 include:

Asheboro City Schools/Asheboro High — 943, 1396, 59.9 percent for the Class of 2013; 973, 1432, 67.5 percent for Class of 2012; 940, 1384, 78.8 percent for Class of 2011.

To view the North Carolina 2013 SAT Report, go to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction website at www.ncpublicschools.org and click on the “NC’s SAT Score Increases While Nation’s Remains the Same” news article.

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